SCSO addresses thefts, intimidation, violence in Lakeland

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office handled the following incidents in Lakeland during the latter half of November. For earlier November incidents, see last week’s issue of The Bartlett Express.Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and values are estimated for stolen/damaged items. These are brief summaries of detailed SCSO reports.

Nov. 13

Herons Point (other larceny/access device)

Credit Wise alerted a resident on the 10200 block of Herons Point that someone had stolen his identity, he reported on Nov. 13.

The company notified him that there were credit inquiries in his name, and he discovered that unauthorized credit cards had been opened in his name at Macy’s, Best Buy and JCPenney on Nov. 11 and at Target on Nov. 12. Someone had already charged $2,900 on the Macy’s card, and the amounts charged to the other cards were not known at the time of the report.

The victim initiated a fraud alert/credit freeze with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the three major credit bureaus.

Nov. 16

U.S. 74/Fletcher Trace Parkway (intimidation)

Deputies, who’d been advised of a reckless driver on Germantown Parkway approaching U.S. 64, spotted a vehicle traveling east with a truck close behind as the deputies neared the area of U.S. 65 and Fletcher Trace Parkway. As deputies were turning around, they saw the truck driver follow the victim into the turning lane and lock up his brakes in an intimidation attempt.

At the traffic stop, the deputies tried removing the driver from his truck, where they spotted multiple open clear airplane bottles of vodka. The driver had slow, slurred speech and watery, bloodshot eyes. They detained the man without further incident.

The victim said the encounter began when he drove up behind the truck driver at the flyover intersection of interstates 240 and 40. The suspect was driving erratically and began brake-checking him (a maneuver when the driver in front slams on brakes to intimidate the following driver). The victim passed the suspect, who then sped up and slowed down behind the victim’s vehicle multiple times. The suspect followed the victim from I-40 eastbound at Sycamore View Road to eastbound U.S. 64 at Fletcher Trace Parkway. The victim said he feared bodily harm.

The suspect performed poorly on a standard field sobriety test, and one deputy took him to 201 Poplar for a warrant blood draw, where he was tested and charged. The suspect’s Tennessee driver’s license was already suspended as of March 13 for failure to maintain future proof of financial responsibility. The suspect also had been charged with driving under the influence in 2010 and 2012. The suspect also failed to provide valid proof of insurance at the scene.

Palmer Drive (theft from motor vehicle)

A woman reported on Nov. 16 that her work-issued iPad Air ($200) was missing from her bag in the rear of her unlocked vehicle. She last saw it two days earlier and had no suspect information.
A dispatcher entered the device’s information into the National Crime Information Center database.

Nov. 18

U.S. 64 (misdemeanor shoplifting)/strong>

The night clerk at Flash Market (9108 U.S. 64) said a black male inquired about a remote controlled helicopter for sale at the store, complained about the price of about $30 and left. He returned shortly, wanting to look at the item again. This time he took the helicopter and left without paying for it. He fled in a dark vehicle of unknown make or model.

Nov. 19

Wood Green Lane (theft from motor vehicle)

A father reported on Nov. 19 that his son’s wallet and cellphone were missing after two suspects had access to it the night before.

The son returned home around 2 a.m. that morning. He’d fallen asleep at his friend’s house after having two shots of vodka, he said. While he was asleep, two other males went riding in his car. He didn’t notice his belongings were missing from the car’s center console until he got home.

The friend and the two male suspects came over to the victim’s house around 8:30 a.m., saying that their phone was missing and that the victim took it. The victim’s father said the friend and one of the two males who took the victim’s car threatened to kick butt. The father said all three suspects left in a gold Toyota Camry, and he gave officers the license plate number.

Someone charged $34.75 at Best Gas Express on the victim’s Regions Visa bank card too. He reported the card stolen and closed the account.

Huff N Puff Road (intimidation)

Two males said another guy and his girlfriend threatened then in a brief encounter the afternoon of Nov. 19. Victim 1 said his puppy ran away from him just as the suspects were trying to get on the elevator. He told them to wait a minute, but the two got angry and threatened to harm him. The victim said the couple continued to curse him out even after he apologized. When Victim 2 tried to calm them down, they started to threaten him too, he said.

Nov. 20

Old Brownsville Road (theft from building)

Someone took a bucket of coins and two rings from a man’s bedroom, he reported on Nov. 20. He last remembered seeing those items about a month ago, and the only person who had been in his house recently was his maid.

Nov. 22

Valkrie Lane (theft from motor vehicle)

Someone stole a pistol and spare magazine from a man’s Jeep Wrangler that he left unlocked and parked on the street, he reported on Nov. 22. He last saw the stolen items the previous evening. A dispatcher entered the Rock River Arms pistol’s information into NCIC.

Nov. 25

U.S. 64 (simple assault/domestic violence)

Two Krystal’s employees who are dating got into a scuffle over a phone around 1:16 a.m. Nov. 25. The man said she wanted to see the phone in his pocket, but he refused and went outside. He said she shoved him and tore his shirt, trying to get the phone. He said he hit her on the head for self-defense. The woman had minor abrasions, and the man’s shirt was torn.

The woman, who is six months pregnant with his child, said she did try to get the phone from his pocket and followed him outside. She said she didn’t shove him, but he hit her in the face.
The restaurant’s general manager arrived and said there should be video evidence of the encounter, but he couldn’t access it while officers were on the scene.

Officers didn’t arrest anyone because they couldn’t determine who was the primary aggressor. A medical unit arrived and treated the woman for minor injuries.

Nov. 29

U.S. 64 (simple assault)

The manager at Subway (9020 U.S. 64) said he threw out a disruptive customer who returned and hit him. The victim had no visible injuries and said he didn’t need medical treatment, but he does want to prosecute if the suspect is identified. The restaurant has video surveillance footage of the event.

Nov. 30

Beowolf Glade (simple assault)

A woman reported her raging fiancé before dawn on Nov. 30. She said he was addicted to alcohol and would get depressed after drinking any. She woke up around midnight and noticed he wasn’t home. Around 3 a.m., she heart him yelling profanity-laced incoherent phrases toward another man outside their home. The two men separated, and then she heard her fiancé strike their mailbox.

She confronted him and asked to tend to his hand, but he refused and kicked their front wrought iron door in an attempt to leave, she said. So she locked the door and called 911.

The man who’d gotten yelled at told officers he saw the suspect and two others walking around the neighborhood with whiskey. The two others went home, but he said the suspect began arguing with his grandmother. The man said he asked the suspect to come to his house and sit on the back porch to listen to music, but the suspect instead slammed him to the ground unprovoked. The male victim had a minor abrasion to his forehead that was treated at the scene.

Deputies took the suspect to Memphis Mental Health Institute for mental evaluation because of his paranoid demeanor and his statements that he was being watched and overheard by an unknown person.